Assault Suspect Back In Jail After In-laws` Home Set Afire

FORT LAUDERDALE — A man out of jail on bond for assault charges stemming from the shooting of his estranged wife and her grandmother has been arrested and charged with two counts of arson.

Police said Edward Lee Parks, 39, of the 1500 block of Northwest 19th Avenue, is suspected of setting fire to his own residence on Sept. 29, and of firebombing his wife`s parents` home in the 1200 block of Northwest Sixth Court on Nov. 7.

``We thought it was sort of unusual circumstances,`` Fort Lauderdale police arson detective Tom Mangifesta said of the first fire. ``There was a photograph of his wife and Jesus Christ and a Bible out on the patio that were taken from the house.``

Mangifesta said Parks was in the process of getting a divorce. Police said that during a family argument, Parks brandished a shotgun and shot his wife and her grandmother, Ruth Smalls. He was arrested and later released on bond on two charges of aggravated assault, Mangifesta said.

About a week later, on Nov. 7, the home of his mother- and father-in-law, Claire and Inez McFadden, was set on fire by a firebomb thrown through a living room window, Mangifesta said.

Police said Parks had threatened to get even with the McFaddens after his arrest for aggravated battery. Neighbors told police that Parks had bragged about how he intended to set the fire, Mangifesta said.

Parks was arrested at his home on Wednesday morning and was booked into the Broward County jail without bond.